The real message behind Boehner’s resignation

For anyone who has traveled to Capitol Hill and seen the office of the Speaker of the House, who is the third most powerful person in American politics, would have to wonder why anyone would willingly resign from the position. More so, Boehner, who although was controversial, was a fundraising beast, and for this reason put in the biggest majority of GOP members in the House in years. Under his leadership, despite all those that say Washington is broken, the House passed hundreds of laws, most importantly about the economy and refueling the potential for Americans to find a job and make a better life for themselves. With a party so divided, he also navigated between the far right and moderate Conservatives in a way that the House was seemed as the power in the legislative halls of Washington, DC, and not the Senate.

So, after such a strong career, and even more promise for the future of the GOP, why did Boehner call quits? Did the Pope give him a spiritual awakening, or did he decide enough was enough, and he was tired of the cat and mouse game known in America as politics.

For Americans, some are happy to see him go and gave him the label as RINO (Republican in name only), and believed he needed to take a tougher leadership role in order for the true conservative values to win. But for others, they realize that this is not the way a true democracy can work, and are nervous that a more conservative, tougher leader, will result in total chaos in a system that revolves around compromise.

The biggest message here, is that the Tea Party, which many forget formed under President George W. Bush’s term, is a force to seriously be reckoned with. This is a faction of the party that is the loudest, and has the most loyal supporters. They believe that moderation is the key to losing, and that politics is only about the winners and the losers. While everyone seemed so excited last November about a huge Republican majority, this part of the party thought that it was not enough, and that the fight to let their more radical constituent’s values needed more perseverance.

So here, enter Boehner, who as a devout Catholic, obviously was impacted by the Pope’s visit and message of peace more than other lawmakers, and took the opportunity to tap out. The fate of the Republican Party, again, is unknown. We have three frontrunners who have never held political office, and a caucus that fights more with each other than it does with Democrats. There is no cohesion in sight, and the effect could be total civil war, or a party that is more extreme and conservative, with the result being a third party, or changing ships to Democrats. The closure everyone thought happened in November has been reopened, and the end result is no where to be seen.